Crackdown

LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Indiana State Police are turning to pick-up trucks marked as highway department vehicles and more unmarked cars as the agency tries to stem a jump in traffic deaths by cracking down on speeders. State police officials say much of increased patrol efforts will be in construction zones and on rural highways and county roads where speed limits are higher than in urban areas. The push comes as the agency says that at least 226 people have died so far this year from crashes on Indiana roads, up from 197 deaths a year ago. Trooper Aaron McCormick of the Lafayette post says he often has drivers fly past him as he patrols in an unmarked Ford Mustang.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Police throughout Indiana will be taking part in a nationwide effort to crack down on intoxicated driving heading into the Labor Day weekend. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute says the 18-day effort known as "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" begins Friday and runs through Sept. 3. More than 250 police agencies in Indiana will be taking part. The blitz includes high-visibility enforcement patrols with a focus on high-profile Labor Day and end-of-summer events. It's being re- inforced through extensive advertising.

If you drink, donÂ?t drive. And, if you want to avoid a ticket, donÂ?t do it in Indiana, particularly between Friday and Sept. 1. A news conference is planned for Wednesday in Indianapolis detailing plans for a statewide crackdown those 18 days. The effort, in conjunction with a nationwide crackdown led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will involve more than 250 Indiana law enforcement agencies. In Indiana, the program will be known as "Drunk Driving Over the Limit Under Arrest.

LANSING (AP) Â? Less than three weeks after a 93-year-old veteran froze to death inside his home, Gov. Jennifer Granholm plans to call for wide restraints on residential gas and electric shutoffs. In her State of the State address Tuesday night, Granholm also will call for prohibiting municipal utilities from cutting off service to senior citizens and disabled persons who fall behind on their payments. The Detroit Free Press says in Sunday editions that Granholm's proposals are a response to the death of 93-year-old Marvin Schur of Bay City.

SOUTH BEND Â? Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter will be at Indiana University South Bend today to announce a crackdown on fake high school and college diplomas. Carter has shut down two "diploma mill" Web sites that create the dubious diplomas. He plans to speak at the campus, 1700 Mishawaka Ave., at noon. Carter obtained an order from the LaPorte Circuit Court halting two Michigan City businesses from engaging in the sale of imitation high school and university diplomas via the Internet, his office said.

The St. Joseph County Police in conjunction with various state and local traffic safety partners announce a statewide crackdown on impaired driving. All motorists should expect vigorous enforcement of IndianaÂ?s impaired driving laws during this crackdown that will go into effect today and conclude Sept. 9. Indiana law enforcement will take a zero tolerance approach toward impaired drivers during the Labor Day holiday, officials said. As part of the crackdown, about 250 state and local law enforcement agencies will conduct sobriety checkpoints in addition to saturation patrols and other increased enforcement activities to detect and arrest impaired drivers.

China gambles on crackdown in Tibet Where does ND fit in? Famous Dave's re-emerges Income tax filing time can be planning time Filing your taxes offers a real opportunity to plan for retirement. Business, E1

LANSING -- Michigan law enforcement officers made more than 3,700 traffic stops and arrested 126 suspected drunken drivers during a Fourth of July period crackdown. The "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest" crackdown took place July 1-8. It included 23 arrests under the state's high blood-alcohol content law. Talking urinal-deodorizer cakes were distributed to Michigan Licensed Beverage Association members in Wayne County, including Detroit, and other areas as part of the effort.

HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) -- A Syracuse man arrested as part of a crackdown on men using the Internet to lure children to have sex was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Mark Glenhill, 20, was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to using a computer to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity. He is the first of 25 people arrested in a crackdown last August to be sentenced. Glenhill was arrested by police when he thought he was about to meet a 13-year-old girl.

State, county and local law enforcement throughout the Midwest will conduct a first-of-its-kind multi-state, multi-jurisdictional impaired driving crackdown this weekend featuring a new kind of enforcement activity called Enforcement Corridors. Enforcement Corridors are patrols on or around roads that connect communities and/or states. This crackdown comes on the heels of new data that shows alcohol-related fatalities in traffic crashes remain an extremely severe problem nationwide. Nearly 3,000 Midwest law enforcement agencies will be participating in the Labor Day crackdown.

Indiana State Police will start cracking down on aggressive drivers today as part of a monthlong campaign to reduce crashes between trucks and passenger vehicles. As part of the federal Ticket Aggressive Cars and Trucks campaign, which runs through June 8, state troopers will target motorists who drive aggressively around semi-trucks and other commercial trucks, police said in a statement. Troopers will focus on violations such as unsafe lane changes, failure to yield the right of way, following too closely and general aggressive driving.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- An effort to crack down on underage drinking and other alcohol-related behavior is yielding results at six college campuses across the state, but some students say it's taken the fun out of tailgating before a game. Officers from the Indiana Excise Police are targeting Ball State, Indiana State, Notre Dame, Purdue, Butler and Indiana universities this fall as part of the Intensified College Enforcement program. The goal: to "essentially change behavior," said Cpl. Travis Thickstun, spokesman for the excise police.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Police throughout Indiana will be taking part in a nationwide effort to crack down on intoxicated driving heading into the Labor Day weekend. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute says the 18-day effort known as "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" begins Friday and runs through Sept. 3. More than 250 police agencies in Indiana will be taking part. The blitz includes high-visibility enforcement patrols with a focus on high-profile Labor Day and end-of-summer events. It's being re- inforced through extensive advertising.

SOUTH BEND -- Significant blows have been dealt to a local gang responsible for several murders, robberies and assaults across the area in recent months, authorities announced Wednesday. One of the biggest came Wednesday morning, when 23-year-old Kevin Burrell, an alleged member of the Cash Out Boyz, was sentenced by St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Roland Chamblee to 111 years in prison related to a shootout last year. Burrell was sentenced to two consecutive 35-year terms on a pair of attempted murder charges and six years for a probation violation related to a previous burglary conviction.

LANSING -- Michigan law enforcement officers made more than 3,700 traffic stops and arrested 126 suspected drunken drivers during a Fourth of July period crackdown. The "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest" crackdown took place July 1-8. It included 23 arrests under the state's high blood-alcohol content law. Talking urinal-deodorizer cakes were distributed to Michigan Licensed Beverage Association members in Wayne County, including Detroit, and other areas as part of the effort.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Indiana State Police are turning to pick-up trucks marked as highway department vehicles and more unmarked cars as the agency tries to stem a jump in traffic deaths by cracking down on speeders. State police officials say much of increased patrol efforts will be in construction zones and on rural highways and county roads where speed limits are higher than in urban areas. The push comes as the agency says that at least 226 people have died so far this year from crashes on Indiana roads, up from 197 deaths a year ago. Trooper Aaron McCormick of the Lafayette post says he often has drivers fly past him as he patrols in an unmarked Ford Mustang.

MOSCOW -- Thousands of protesters marched through central Moscow on Tuesday under flags from across the political spectrum, defying government efforts to silence them -- and fierce thunderstorms besides. The crowd, estimated by police at 18,000 and by organizers at 50,000, rallied even in the absence of half a dozen of their leaders, who spent much of the day being questioned by investigators pursuing charges of disorder at a May 6 rally. Two prominent organizers were served summonses to appear for questioning Tuesday evening as they stood on a stage to speak to the crowd.

BUCHANAN -- In response to recent pit bill attacks on three people Buchanan officials could be looking to crack down on dangerous animals. City Manager-Police Chief Bill Marx said during this week's Buchanan Commissioners meeting that director of animal control for the state, Val Grimes, will be in town on Sept. 26. He asked Grimes to attend the next regularly scheduled commissioners meeting to go over the existing state statute governing dangerous animals and answer any questions.

CAIRO -- President Barack Obama on Thursday issued his first explicit call for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad and imposed the harshest sanctions yet on Assad's assets in hopes of choking off funding for a deadly crackdown against anti-government protesters. Obama's statement that it was time for Assad to "step aside" was issued in concert with several European allies, who also demanded for the first time that the Syrian leader leave office over his regime's brutal response to a 5-month-old popular uprising.